Collapse
by eClair23
Summary: Collapse. Complete and utter collapse. There was no other way to describe it.


Collapse.

Complete and utter collapse.

There was no other way to describe it. One minute, he was perfectly upright, the next she was desperately screaming his name, panicked. Queenie finally managed to calm her down enough to apparate back to their apartment, where they placed him carefully on the couch.

Queenie snapped into action, preparing healing potions and making sure he was comfortable.

Tina couldn't remember the last time she'd cried this much. She desperately clung to his limp hand and pleaded with him to wake up. Sobs wracked her thin frame as she inwardly berated herself for taking so long to notice his condition. Perhaps if she had been a little more observant, he wouldn't be unconscious on her couch now, and she wouldn't be more scared than she'd ever been.

Sometime around midnight, Queenie gently placed a hand on her shoulder and asked her to come to bed. Tina determinedly shook her off, muttering something about keeping watch.

Sometime around one, Tina too had fallen asleep, her head resting on Newt's chest, slowly rising and falling with each breath.

Close to two, Newt's breathing sped up, waking Tina and sending her into a panic. Queenie, sensing her distress, sprinted from her bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She managed to calm Tina down with a cup of cocoa, and retired once again.

Sometime around ten the next morning, Tina awoke to someone tenderly running their fingers through her hair. She stirred, blinking sleepily. "Tina," came a familiar voice, albeit weaker than usual. "Newt?!" She tackled him in a hug, clinging to him as if she wasn't sure he was real. He chuckled, tracing circles on her back as she cried into his wrinkled shirt. In between sobs, she managed to choke out, "I thought...you were…and I'd never get to see you again...and I never got to thank you...and-" mercifully, he cut her off. "It's alright, I'm here now, Tina, don't worry, everything's alright. Shh," he held her close as she took deep breaths of his shirt, memorizing his smell: fresh earth, wood, and something rather like cinnamon.

Queenie entered the room, carrying a tray with three steaming cups of cocoa. "I'm glad to see you two are making some progress, then," she smirked at Tina. "Queenie!" Tina rebuffed her, resuming her chair beside Newt. At the sight of the freshly made cocoa, Newt attempted to prop himself up on the sofa, to no avail. Tina hurriedly retrieved an extra pillow and helped him to sit up. He blushed, looking flustered. "So sorry to be such a bother, I should be better quite soon, truly, Miss Goldstein." Tina's eyes widened. "Newt, you're not a bother at all! It's been absolutely wonderful having you here, and we really don't mind if you stay a little longer. We are happy to take care of you, that's what you do when you care about someone," Newt thought he detected a tinge of pink in Tina's cheeks at this last declaration.

Newt thought about this for a moment. "Thank you, thank you kindly, Miss Goldstein. Tell me, do you have any idea when I might be able to make my way down into my case? You see, my creatures all have very specific feeding schedules, and I would hate to confuse any of them."

Tina nodded in understanding. "Whenever you feel up to walking, we can give it a shot. For now, why don't you tell me and Queenie what to do and we'll do our best to make sure your creatures get what they need. Does that sound alright?"

Newt nodded slowly. "Do you think, perhaps, if it's not too much trouble, that is, could you bring Dougal, my demiguise, up out of the case? He's been rather helpful in the past when I've become ill, and perhaps could assist in my healing process."

"Of course, Mr. Scamander," Tina smiled shyly, "So how do I get him up here? Do I just carry him, or-"

Newt laughed. "Yes, he's usually rather fond of human contact, so he should latch on to you fairly quickly. I have to warn you, though, he's heavier than he looks."

Tina giggled. "Okay, we'll do our best."

Newt handed her his notebook full of information on all of the beasts, a rather small red leather book filled to the brim with loose sheets of paper and notes squeezed onto pages. "The only ones that should really need feeding today are the niffler and the occamies. Mind, do be careful not to pet the occamies, they tend to bite. Occamy pellets are on the highest shelf to the right, niffler's are to the left."

"Thanks, Newt," Tina gave him a cautious smile and descended into the case.

Twenty minutes later, she emerged, looking a bit frazzled, but overall triumphant, Dougal hanging off of her, taking in his surroundings curiously. At the sight of Dougal, Newt beamed happily, reaching out to take him from Tina's arms. "Thank you, Miss Goldstein."

"Tina, Newt," she scolded gently. "I told you, you can call me Tina."

He smiled up at her. "Well in that case, thank you, Tina."


End file.
